As a trailer drops for "Christopher Robin," starring Ewan McGregor as Winnie the Pooh's human companion, what's the real story behind the cartoon bear? Long before Walt Disney turned Pooh and co. into movie stars, a boy named Christopher Robin Milne of England got a stuffed bear for his first birthday in 1921. As he watched his son interact with it, A.A. Milne decided to craft a children's book.